Fedor Emelianenko Doesn’t Regret Not Fighting in UFC | The MMA Hour

Fedor Emelianenko discusses his emotions heading into his final fight, why he wanted to return, if Bellator gave him the choice of his final opponent, what does he want his legacy to be, if he wished he had just one UFC fight, his one meeting with Dana White, if he ever considered pro boxing, if his children will do MMA, if he feels he’s the GOAT, his favorite fight, and more.
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[@dnam727]

Greatest of all time in my book. The aura around him during his decade-long reign was like no other, not even Jones, Aldo, or Silva. He was untouchable and beat the best in the world, some even twice. Don't give me that weak competition argument; you simply wasn't there then. There was nobody to try him until he was much older. UFC dwarfed in competition compared to PEIDE at that time. And to think, Fedor was an undersized heavyweight and continued fighting for another ten years is amazing. All his peers from the early days have long been retired.

[@beauaIloevv]

conor mcgregor better ☘️🇮🇪 GOAT

[@oldironsides4107]

Fedor and jones are the greatest fighters I’ve ever seen.

[@kestermyronsoldmcmanager1273]

@@oldironsides4107 this is pure facts

[@crazydolphin33]

​@@oldironsides4107 I put Fedor #1 and Jon Jones #2.

[@shayzepp7453]

To not mention DJ is a crime

[@tomneidher]

The last Gladiator leaves. The last true fighter with pride. Its over now. Sad day

[@davidpineda9160]

Fkn old people with their fixations lol

[@Scp716creativecommons]

Bittersweet. Like an elephant migrating south, the landscape is evolved for him passing through.

[@IRUVo]

The legendary, the last Emperor, Fedoooooorr Emilianenkoooo !!!

[@lazaruscomplexofficial]

Greatest heavyweight of all time and a class act

[@lazaruscomplexofficial]

@NegativePoker oh I'm not knocking Fedor at all I'm a huge fan of his, what he did in pride is just unreal, and seeing how he got out of compromised positions calmly was incredible.

[@uk145]

Heavyweight will always be the best full stop (except before weight categories)

[@alanmartinezrodriguez884]

Pride, prime Fedor had no equal. He could've retired at 32-"1", undefeated, beating what Khabib did, and nobody would have questioned him. However, he decided to continue fighting far past his prime. Why? Because he's a true warrior. Fighting is what he loves. Long live the Last emperor.

[@albertawheat6832]

I share you sentiment.

[@fabriziogarreta7400]

Renen barao could have done the same thing. Khabib wasn’t special

[@chipmonk590]

Fedor and crocop are THE LEGENDS in this game!!! Both always calm, humble and very dangerous!!!

[@albertawheat6832]

Crocop was another good fighter in his day...

[@eliteknowledge7298]

Wow yes! But do you remember how Fedor took out Cro Cop too?

[@albertawheat6832]

@@eliteknowledge7298 I do remember that, it was a good fight.

[@scottieeasley4907]

Fedor is AWESOME. I DONT KNOW IF ANYONE HAS EVER BEEN AS GOOD AS FEDOR

[@AHubzz]

I remember coming across KZbin videos of this Russian legend being a stint cold killer and it was a boy following his career since then. One of the greatest of all time .

[@tiemanschnitzel7940]

I hated Fedor when he beat up Minotauro, but over the years he became my favorite fighter. Greatness combined with humility.

[@walmartian422]

Yea I wasn’t happy when he beat cro cop and just looked too invincible during the pride era.

[@TheOrlandoTrustfull]

Imagine being asked the same question, in a different language, 6,000 times over the course of your career. If he wanted to fight in the UFC, he would have.

[@nh3028]

doesnt understand Russia

[@mrt445]

He had no reason to turn down Dana White"s offer before he lost his first fight. He was offered more money than any other heavyweight in MMA history at that time

[@xverxverxverga]

@@mrt445 there’s something called respect. More important than money

[@darvinmijatovic2015]

Fedor is one of the biggest and maybe the biggest MMA, for 10 years he hasn't asked if someone is on steroids or if he weighs 150 kilograms, rounds 10 minutes, knees allowed on the floor, winner Fedor 🐐💯

[@mrstarbuck9212]

The GOAT Respect from Africa!

[@KyleLindheimer]

That's the most ironic thing I've ever read, considering that FRANCIS NGANNOU is almost objectively the true HW GOAT, followed by Stipe Miocic, Ciryl Gane, and Daniel Cormier, followed by Fabricio Werdum (who has a subission win over Fedor and beat Cain, who's like a better version of Fedor in a lot of ways), Cain Velasquez, prime Ubereem, prime JDS, and Curtis Blaydes. Jon Jones will likely soon establish himself near the top of this list as well. He bet Cormier twice, the same Cormier who's like a better version of Cain and Fedor, the same Cormier who ragdolled the Henderson that knocked Fedor out, the same Cormier who gave Stipe hell in three grueling and classic trilogy superfight matches at the age of 40 on the cusp of retirement.

[@mrstarbuck9212]

@@KyleLindheimer Fedor was not in his prime when he fought Fabricio Werdum.

[@siggijackson2878]

@@KyleLindheimer 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂

[@ventocz6476]

Sad to see only so few views on this Video.. This was the most dangerous man on this planet in his prime and he would maul every single guy in the UFC if it was 15 years ago

[@oldironsides4107]

jj Nice worldview of prizefighting.

[@KyleLindheimer]

That's the most laughable thing I've ever read, unless you mean the UFC of 15 years ago, which is almost laughable compared to the utterly extraordinary level of competition in the UFC today - where even a prime, roided Pride-version Fedor would still get destroyed by multiple opponents at the top of the HW roster, first and foremost Francis Ngannou.

[@albertawheat6832]

@@KyleLindheimer UFC is rigged, get used to it.

[@chucknorrisffs]

@@KyleLindheimer Pride was a lot more stacked and brutal compared to today's ufc. And he's referring to prime era Fedor. Ngannou is part of the new generation and you really can't compare.

[@iamclydieCS]

yeh

[@Takedownjolly9846]

Thanks Fedor !! U are the reason I am a Fan of MMA . U changed my life !! ♥️💪♥️

[@JS-sy8do]

Fedor reminds me of Barry Sanders. A total badass doing amazing things, but very calm and casual. GOAT. A real pleasure and privilege to see.

[@KyleLindheimer]

He's not GOAT, not even close, and his athletic accolades and legacy are not even close to what Barry Sanders accomplished in football. Sanders is like 5x the athlete that Fedor is, and that's a conservative estimate at that.

[@samsonv5980]

This is so funny to watch as someone who speaks russian because fedor answers all those questions so short that his interpreter literally adds whole sentences to his answers that fedor did not say in russian

[@georgeleet6670]

Than your Russian is pretty bad, since there was no moments where anything like that happened.

[@satori-in-life]

Fedor has always been a man of few words. You gotta love it 🤣😂

[@alcottdevalte7440]

I hope Fedor wins the belt next and rides onto the sunset. He would easily have become the champ in the UFC because he was way ahead of his time and so technical back then. People need to watch his early fights. If not for a doctor stoppage, he would have been on a 32 fight winning streak, which is extremely rare in MMA and simply splendid...

[@kestermyronsoldmcmanager1273]

Let’s be real, he was on a 32 fight winning streak, which included ufc champs arlovski, Tim Sylvia, noguiera,

[@stonecold316339]

Oh 100% people need to realize that the HWs in Pride were superior to that of the UFCs. If Pride's HW's fought the UFC's HW's, Pride would have swept them.

[@irishscience580]

@@stonecold316339 so true. I'll never understand why some people say fedor fought "weak" competition. he has one of the greatest resumes in mma history.

[@KyleLindheimer]

@@stonecold316339 That's only true at the time that Fedor was competing in Pride, way back in the early to mid 2000s. By the 2010s and even more so right now, in the 2020s, UFC is king, as the level of competition has increased by leaps and bounds over the years with the evolution of the sport, and UFC's near monopolization of the fight game, having absorbed most of the best Pride fighters and most of the best Strikeforce fighters when both of those organizations went out of business. UFC also bought out the WEC and had an insanely high level of pioneering competition at the lower weight classes too at that time. Bellator has had some great fighters, but overall they're nowhere near the level of competition in the UFC right now.

[@JRF1004]

Imagine he becomes the Bellator champion at 47 years old, he goes up even higher in GOAT conversation

[@1824ajay]

Fedor the legend!! Respect 🙏

[@Aseke95]

This is the end of an era. Wish The Last Emperor to reach the HW belt and leave this sport on high note. One of the best heavyweights of all time!

[@JimChap]

Respect to a legend of the sport. Mt Rushmore of MMA I think.

[@supapunchable]

I remember going to the store, checking fighting magazines about Pride / K1 résumé. He was (and still) my favorite heavy mma fighter! Hope he gets the win!

[@TeeSok]

same here, and some even came with dvds of the events. great times

[@sagarpuri7838]

Greatest of All time by huge margin. What amazing fights he gave to the Sports.

[@KyleLindheimer]

That's absurd. You clearly have not been following the sport very closely from the late 2000s and onward. The amount of evolution and increase in competition, athleticism, and skill level, th sheer amount of great fighters and legendary HWs or, better yet, legendary p4p fighters that have emerged, primarily in the UFC make Fedor not even close to the claim of "greatest of all time" either in his own weight class, where I can think of at least 5-10 fighters who would have beat him or across all weight classes, where p4p Fedor isn't even close to a lot of the greatest fighters of recent years.

[@sagarpuri7838]

@@KyleLindheimer What are you talking bro. When He was in his prime His fight where basically Freak fights. No weight barriers. PEDs fighters It was a crazy time in MMA. Jon Jones fight against Tiago, Anthony Smith was draw if not they were robbed. GSP loss against Johnny Hendrix, Khabib only defended his title just 2 times. You should see Fedor Emialankeo performance.

[@eliteknowledge7298]

@@KyleLindheimer dude? You are talking complete nonsense! Fedor would've wiped out the whole UFC roaster in his prime! Not even debatable! He took out, Nogueira, Cro Cop, Vanderlei, Arona, Arlowski, Rampage and several other UFC heavyweight champs. Which Amongst Mirr and Sylvia... the list goes on and on. All Straight killers!! You are talking absolute rubbish!

[@eliteknowledge7298]

Definitely the one and only GOAT, yes!

[@RMD94]

​@@KyleLindheimer2004 Fedor would play with 2014 Jones

[@lovetoka]

Fedor showed amazing techniques ... walked through BJJ legends , Kick boxing legends on their water.... amazing carrier .. of course he's the GOAT..

[@razorslice99]

Holy Hell I have waited over 10 years to hear Fedor speak English and to be more expressive. Hands down best interview of him ever. Still the greatest heavyweight next to Cain Velazquez , DC and Stipe.

[@sinsemillao]

Legend. One of the 🐐. Certified OG

[@jblack5728]

Stone cold man. His face is always so chill and relaxed.

[@flyguy7825]

He never fought in the UFC because he understood his worth and he knew the UFC namely Dana White was going to try and pay him peanuts and Fedor top five fighter of all time in my opinion

[@christianderico6613]

the legend of Fedor

[@unclefester831]

I remember back in 2009, I genuinely believed that Brock Lesnar would've beat Fedor but looking back I admit that I was ignorant and tbh I had very little knowledge of Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor was indeed ahead of his time and he was never the biggest heavyweight, in fact he was actually small for a heavyweight but the way he dominated the giants in his prime was very impressive to watch. His hand speed & the power he generated was phenomenal.

[@FinalDestinationDeepspace]

He looks Amazing!. God bless him !

[@nh3028]

Great interview! Nice to hear how he feels

[@vigilantvoice9778]

One of the true greats that Dana never could hook! I hope Fedor goes out with a victory. Best of luck…

[@kamyar1990]

The GOAT

[@beauaIloevv]

is Conor McGregor☘️🇮🇪

[@KyleLindheimer]

Not even close. Not even close to being the HW GOAT let alone p4p

[@albertawheat6832]

@@KyleLindheimer Nice empty channel...And New even, You tube troll.

[@ClaimerUncut]

Fedor getting 4k views whilst Eddie hearn gets 34k.. How times have Changed.

[@SoloDamon]

The Greatest Heavyweight of all time !!!!!

[@KyleLindheimer]

Not even close. I can think of at least 5+ fighters that I would favor to beat Fedor head-to-head in prime vs prime matchups, and multiple of those fighters have greater legacies/accolades/performances and greater resumes as well. Right now the HW GOAT is likely Francis Ngannou, with either Stipe Miocic or Ciryl Gane coming in second place. We'll see how Jones does at HW too, as he already has two spectacular wins over Cormier, who's like a better version of Fedor or Cain, and who ragdolled Henderson effortlessly, the same Henderson who knocked out Fedor in Strikeforce, and who gave Stipe such grueling all-time wars at the age of around 40 in their superfight trilogy matches.

[@SoloDamon]

@@KyleLindheimer I can see yr point .. but will never know ... what we know are the facts now and Fedor beat the best when the heavyweight was really stacked with roids guys etc .... for Francis no its not the best at all and will never be Cyril still young and can be one of the Hw goat Stipe for sur but i think Francis only have a real good power and not enough skill ... and to be the goat you have to be put in the dirt and coming back you have to lose and coming back always stronger its not just winning make you the goat ... its eveything

[@user-he7gl6cm9f]

Best ever in every way, and a gentleman, Rare

[@kRuWeLLL]

The man that made me fall in love for this sport... By far the GOAT of this sport, I'm so grateful to have been able to watch your fights and admire you as a kid, growing with a role model like you in this sport was a real bless. Thank you Fedor Emelianenko, thank you for everything.

[@rlee6984]

Imma be there in person for this! 💪🏽

[@JS-sy8do]

Nice! Enjoy the moment!

[@arslanmyradow4131]

Fedor 💪💪

[@desibains9947]

The goat. Bar none. To last this long as a heavy weight and to do as well as he did and his undefeated run for all a decade or two or what ever it was. The fact he fought all the way into 2023 he is the goat.

[@billyjack4939]

Fedor tanscended the ufc. he rose above it. hoping he earns another title that would be a blessing to every mma fan.

[@KeyserSoze23]

He doesn't regret the 50% off Reebok coupons he could have got by joining the UFC?

[@kbone87]

Still the goat. Unless you witnessed the pride Era you jus don't understand.

[@lazaruscomplexofficial]

FACT

[@KyleLindheimer]

The level of skill and athleticism and overall competition has improved by leaps and bounds in MMA over the years, and UFC, having absorbed Pride and Strikeforce over a decade ago and just kept building up its roster after that, UFC is now almost monopolizing the sport and has such an insanely stacked roster of all-time-great level p4p fighters that no, Fedor Emelianenko and Pride era in general do not even come close in all reality

[@kbone87]

@@KyleLindheimer new fans are allowed an opinion too so I can appreciate yours.

[@KyleLindheimer]

@@kbone87 I'm no "new fan" lmao, and I've watched much of the Pride Era fights online so I know what I'm talking about. I've been following the UFC's development and evolution for many years now, and I've never failed to be impressed at how consistently the organization has managed to raise the bar on the sport's professional standards

[@kbone87]

@@KyleLindheimer Dana you have better things to do than argue with fans in comment sections. Sorry signing fedor didn't work our. Good day to you

[@JumaBowi]

Hopefully fedor will win the belt

[@JOSETV1]

I'll be there live, can't WAIT!!!!

[@wooshangjr]

The only man I will ever refer to as an EMPEROR

[@michaelbuettner1487]

Fedor shutting down Ariel’s nonsense questions 6:05 lol

[@karmanmelitsis4849]

Fedor HW GOAT no doubt

[@shomajah8037]

Легендарный Фёдор Очень хороший человек только уважение ✊

[@alwolf2325]

This was beautiful, Fedor is the truth.

[@jayz6008]

He’s too old to be fighting but huge respect for him he’s a legend

[@petergorman5058]

🐐

[@xdrezcorex]

The GOAT.

[@PJ-po6xy]

Respect💯

[@razvanmarcu3640]

Wooooooow! The legend of mma

[@patrickbrade1992]

classy intelligent man who is a true warrior!

[@carmike7671]

Fedor vs Randy would have been cool

[@BeeStrings]

IMO Fedor would’ve murked Randy. He’s just more dangerous everywhere the fight goes. He’s both fast and heavy handed.

[@aurelpetrisorbicu806]

GOAT

[@openedfists]

Great interview Ariel

[@eliteknowledge7298]

The one and only GOAT

[@sith-o-mac]

Please win Fedor. It may be hard to believe, but most Americans want Fedor to win. All sportsbooks have money coming in on Fedor.

[@butthurtindianmcowsual8530]

Fedor is HW MMA GOAT

[@KyleLindheimer]

Absolutely not. There's at least 5+ fighters I can think of in HW who'd beat or have already beaten Fedor head-to-head, and who have better accolades, resumes, skillsets, performances, and physical/athletic ability.

[@2dvscarter727]

He never bitched when he lost

[@paredox9972]

Fukin legend!

[@mohawkaktownwarrior2540]

Oh I watched his debut in pride. He put Sambo on the map for me and showed me if Sambo were easy it would be called jujitsu.

[@KyleLindheimer]

Jiu-jitsu is superior to Sambo as an overall submission grappling specialty. Perhaps no better proof of this is the fact that Fedor got submitted in one round by Fabricio Werdum for example.

[@lovetoka]

@@KyleLindheimer when Fabricio was submitting Fedor was already passed his prime.. look how Fedor dominated Big Nog..

[@topwargear]

Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[@dtruth5769]

BEST HEAVYWEIGHT EVER!

[@multipastilan]

Well Pride FC during Fedor’s time has the best fighters.

[@theviolentone]

bellator treating legends much better than ufc

[@paulduckworth316]

Interview seems to suggest Fedor has lost his passion and had to fight his last contracted fight so his pull got him a title fight, although it's understandable he has a fantastic career

[@unsub6737]

I mean, what's he gonna say Ariel, that he regrets not fighting in the UFC? What good is that gonna do? Happy retirement Fedor, legend. One last hurrah.

[@unsub6737]

@Lessons in LogicAre you that naive?

[@albertawheat6832]

@Lessons in Logic Do you regret that your channel is empty and brand new ??

[@ferenccsordas8292]

The Best fighter of all time : Fedor V. Emelianenko!!!

[@franlovelsimic8421]

Being Croatian we feel more inclined to say Cro Cop is one of or the GOAT but in my opinion he would've been if he beat this legend. What a career and what a pro. So pro that I raised my eyebrow when I saw him laugh here hahaha. Edit: oh and I really don't get why you asked him about UFC. He surely answered this a million times and I'm not sure what response you anticipated Ariel.

[@KyleLindheimer]

As Croatian you should think Stipe is the GOAT... wtf

[@ihavetubes]

The Goat

[@algeriasolitaryman3662]

Goat

[@alavuddin718]

Я фанат 1 фиёдор

[@sinistersageness]

Casuals don’t understand that this man was the “mike Tyson” of mma for over a decade when the sport was starting to grow. Yes he would have destroyed Tyson, but you know what I mean.

[@gdarippa69]

Where’s the translator lady

[@gabrielhbarletta]

🐐 👏

[@gesundheit602]

Not only is he the GOAT, but he did it all while staying humble and a truly good person. Personally I’m glad he didn’t take the UFC’s offer. The UFC bought up everybody they couldn’t run out of business and monopolized the sport.

[@hippieboy6428]

The quality of character…

[@Fedor911]

GOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@undertakerfanz628]

I would have loved to see him fight Brock Lesnar

[@flyguy7825]

He would have got annihilated Brock Lesnar would have been embarrassed by Fedor.

[@undertakerfanz628]

@@flyguy7825 keep dreaming

[@NRC613]

@@undertakerfanz628 you think Brock can beat Fedor lmfao keep dreaming

[@flyguy7825]

@@undertakerfanz628 I don't need to dream about something that was never going to happen

[@undertakerfanz628]

@@flyguy7825 so mind your business then and brush your teeth

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

Ariel always shouts at non English speakers like if he talks louder they'll understand him 🤦‍♂️

[@rcsnapon2132]

Sweet 😅

[@rohitsharma-mehik]

The Emperor👑

[@alavuddin718]

Fedor 1💯👍👍👍👍👍👊👊👊👊👊🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾🦾💪💪💪💪💪💪💪🤝🤝👣👣👣👣🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴

[@deminioxst6129]

Winners write history. Ufc won and wrote the history. The truth is UFC was not the best organisation back in those days. That's why i never accepted the gsp goat status. The best athletes were not in ufc. Even a bit later strikeforce had better roster and it was proved when they took over a lot of belts from ufc. There is a video with the lineage of the heavyweight belt and it depicts exactly which organisation was the best and when the shifts were happening

[@flinkAdink]

He makes his debut at UFC 300 VS Brock Lesnar tho

[@ciaran0877]

The tom brady of mma !!!!

[@oldironsides4107]

May fedor bathe in the blood of every man woman and child from Baders family tree. God bless. We are all Juan

[@mightymigzlifestyle]

Would've loved to see him compete in the UFC during his prime but it wasn't meant to be just like he said.

[@keithminnich4017]

I'm hoping for one more GLORIOUS ABSOLUTE VICTORY for Fedor!!!!!

[@XxGODFATH3RxX]

Fedor vs Cro Cop two

[@georgemelitsis2607]

HW GOAT.

[@iamclydieCS]

yeee

[@JumaBowi]

wonder how fedor in the ufc would've played out

[@KyleLindheimer]

Getting exposed by Cain, JDS, Ubereem, and Werdum, at the time.

[@lesterfaapaiaga9681]

To think he started his MMA career before Khabib and finish it after Khabib retired

[@johnnyforsythe9713]

Fedor ofcourse was an is the greatest heavyweight of all time.. But I do wonder how many of his fights in Japan was rigged.. Because it was normal vin Japan to have all those fixed fights.. He defanitly didn't need help kick ass . Lol such a badass. His humbleness is second to none

[@stanneh1978]

The best, and it's only fitting that the sweater of absolute glory has gone on to raise money for good causes.